SoftBank's bid for Sprint approved

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The Federal Communications Commission approved SoftBank's $21.6 billion bid for mobile carrier Sprint Nextel Corp., giving Japanese billionaire Masayoshi Son a position in the U.S. market.

“Today is a good day for all Americans who use mobile broadband services,” FCC acting Chairwoman Mignon Clyburn said Friday in a statement. The commission determined the transfer of control of Sprint's airwaves is in the public's interest, she said.

The FCC also approved Sprint's offer to buy the half of wireless operator Clearwire Corp. it doesn't already own.

SoftBank's bid stands to boost Sprint, the third-largest U.S. wireless carrier, as a competitor to the nation's two biggest mobile carriers, Verizon Wireless and AT& T. SoftBank's founder, Son, has pledged innovative pricing and network investments.

Tokyo-based SoftBank will own 78 percent of Sprint, based in Overland Park, Kan.

SoftBank doesn't own spectrum licenses in the U.S. and plans to invest $5 billion into Sprint's network to provide wireless broadband service, the FCC said in the order.

“Just two years ago, the wireless industry was at the doorstep of duopoly, but with these transformative transactions, we are one step closer to a stronger Sprint, which will better serve consumers, challenge the market share leaders and drive innovation in the American economy,” Sprint chief executive Dan Hesse said in a joint statement Friday by Sprint, SoftBank and Clearwire.

The five-member commission has two vacancies because the Senate hasn't voted on the nomination of Tom Wheeler to be the next FCC chairman and a successor hasn't been named for Republican Robert McDowell, who left in May.

The SoftBank-Sprint deal continues a reordering in the growing mobile market, after the fourth- and fifth-largest U.S. carriers combined May 1 into T-Mobile US.

U.S. antitrust and security officials earlier cleared SoftBank's bid. The companies gave assurances they would limit use of telecommunications gear made by Huawei Technologies, based in Shenzhen, China.

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